I’m going to come right out and say it: the primary reason for choosing this hotel was because Francis is the name of our cat. I’m serious – there were so many hotel choices in the Union Square area of San Francisco that I felt like a deer in the headlights while trying to choose one for this trip. They all looked really good, and I couldn’t really find one that seemed to stand out from all the others. But thankfully one of them shared the same name as our cat, so that helped to make the decision final.

And a fine choice it was. Of all the “wild guess” hotel reservations I’ve made in my life so far, this might have been the best. No, it wasn’t the extravagant lobby – or the amazing location adjacent to Union Square that made it so good. It was the view from our room that blew us away. But I’ll get to that in a second…

As I just noted, this hotel is basically right on top of Union Square on Powell Street. It’s a short (but uphill) walk from the Powell St BART station, and there are a ton of shopping and food options nearby. Basically, it’s as good as it gets for a nice hotel in Union Square – which I admit is a bold claim to make since I’ve obviously never stayed at any other hotel in this area. But really, we couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Outside the Westin St Francis

The grand foyer of the Westin St Francis

Once past the foyer, there is a second large hall containing the check in desks and a bar / cafe area

This is a huge (and popular) hotel. Once through the main entryway, we found a long check in queue at the front desk. Luckily, it moved fast and we didn’t have to wait more than 10 minutes. We were even offered free chocolate by the hotel staff as we waited in line, which I thought was a really nice touch.

Check in desk

The 25th floor hallway, just after exiting the elevator

The door to our room: 2590

It’s important to note that there are two parts to the Westin St Francis – the lower main building and the tower building behind it. Our room was on the 25th floor of the tower building, and our jaws hit the floor as soon as we saw the view upon entering the room.

Huge bay window with an incredible view of the city of San Francisco

The view we had overlooking downtown San Francisco was so captivating that we literally didn’t even look at anything else in the room as we ran to the window to soak it all in. It was only after gawking for 10 minutes that we turned around and had a look at the amenities.

The view to the northeast, with Coit Tower off in the distance

The view looking directly east

Looking southeast, with San Francisco Bay off in the distance

The signature Westin Heavenly Bed

The Heavenly Bed, looking the other way

Looking towards the door

A closer look at the room door. Why are hotel room door so sterile from the inside?

Complimentary Starbucks coffee

The desk was large, and provided ample space to work (or pile junk onto)

Not exactly a workplace that will inspire creativity…

At least the other side of the room was more cozy and inviting

Large and bright bathroom – typical of most Westin properties I’ve stayed at

Toilet and shower area

The shower / tub combination was nice and large, though very dark

All in all, the Westin St Francis was a great place to call home for two days. Although it’s a very busy property located in the heart of the city, our upper-room floor was very quiet. On top of that, we found the staff to be quite friendly and accommodating, making this a hotel we would definitely return to on our next trip to San Francisco.

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